tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post2911005416765476397..comments2024-02-14T06:42:21.988-06:00Comments on Context and variation: On bad first draftsKateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-62256694395400962722011-03-20T10:59:05.617-05:002011-03-20T10:59:05.617-05:00Your post is informative and accessible, one that ...Your post is informative and accessible, one that any academic writer (undergratuate, graduate, post-gradute, science writer, etc.) would find beneficial. I have two additional perspectives: (1) writing and revising are processes that, at best, result in the author's finding her/his own "voice" (that, of course, may change over space and time); (2) when I write a paper, chapter, or book, I first decide upon the approximate number of sub-sections and paragraphs that I want; next I create an outline (for each sub-section and paragraph) detailing notes and other comments for later reference(including important ideas/facts); next I arrange file folders for each sub-section and paragraph in sequence following my outline (filed in a plastic file--the type with its own lid) containing (in separate folders), not only my notes/comments for each sub-section and paragraph but also reprints, chapters, or other material(s) to be cited. I have found that this method yields a first draft that is easier to compose and also is more efficient and refined than one obtained without the division-of-task described. Of course, this method might be modified depending upon the author's requirements and specifications. Finally, I've found that, as you imply in your piece, conducting an intense literature review before starting to write is essential (this step also helps one to conceptualize the project); one may also need to search additional topics as one proceeds. Bon chance with your volume.Clara B. Joneshttp://vertebratesocialbehavior.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-62119316926025574042011-03-17T10:33:36.066-05:002011-03-17T10:33:36.066-05:00Hi Kate,
Thank you for the explanations and elabo...Hi Kate,<br /><br />Thank you for the explanations and elaborations. Great points! Very inspirational for how to combine both science writing and blogging.Jason Antrosiohttp://www.livinganthropologically.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-79361035810398434472011-03-17T10:00:36.465-05:002011-03-17T10:00:36.465-05:00Thanks, Anne, and that's a great resource!
Ja...Thanks, Anne, and that's a great resource!<br /><br />Jason, sharing my scholarly writing with my spouse/family stopped being useful several years ago. Your mileage may vary, of course, but at a certain point, no matter how compelling your work is or how well you eventually revise, your audience is other academics within your field. My husband is an academic in a field very different from mine. He is considered a good writer for his field, and I find his grants and papers nearly unreadable. I can't get past the fact that I don't understand most of the science. Same with when he reads my work. Sometimes we can read second-to-last drafts of each other's stuff, if it's short, because we can help with tone and flow. But that's it.<br /><br />The reason I talked about how this was targeted for an academic audience was because this is totally different from where I solicit ideas from when I write my blog posts. I have shown friends or family posts before they go up, because they are the audience I want to reach. I guess, my thinking is, bad first drafts are universal, but the revising process after that differs greatly by audience and intent.<br /><br />The book title is alliterative, and meant to be a bit of a play on words. Anthropology often problematizes the medical metaphor of the body as a machine, so using a machine metaphor, but then having chapters that directly defy it, is just us having a little bit of fun.KateClancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-80420225917376435752011-03-17T09:17:47.353-05:002011-03-17T09:17:47.353-05:00Excellent thoughts on first drafts and the writing...Excellent thoughts on first drafts and the writing process. It's important to know that professional writers often go through many drafts--like 40 or 50--before putting out a piece of writing.<br /><br />I would comment that sharing a first draft with a spouse-parent-pet might be the most important step, as they can sometimes be fiercer critics than colleagues. Also, if you can figure out what might make them excited about your writing (especially if they are non-academics), then you might have the hook you need for wider relevance. Obviously this depends on the eventual audience you are trying to reach.<br /><br />I'm interested in the book title. Why are you calling it "Building Babies"? It seems like with a focus on processes of growth and development, beginning with a growing or developing metaphor might be more appropriate.Jason Antrosiohttp://www.livinganthropologically.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-14515402799452171252011-03-16T18:20:57.662-05:002011-03-16T18:20:57.662-05:00Awesome, now I can kill the darlings more better, ...Awesome, now I can kill the darlings more better, or..whatever. Thanks to Anne for guiding me to this post.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16066285550739882631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-60298584794135981692011-03-16T15:12:31.658-05:002011-03-16T15:12:31.658-05:00Thanks! that gave me inspiration to finish my own ...Thanks! that gave me inspiration to finish my own first really bad draft... and to understand better how my body works on those days :PAschenbrödelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04421556856333704565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-15707144873612449502011-03-16T12:06:36.057-05:002011-03-16T12:06:36.057-05:00I adore you, Kate Clancy. My blogging energy has e...I adore you, Kate Clancy. My blogging energy has entirely been sucked into producing a full draft of a manuscript. And on the top of my browser is a bookmark to <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/pages/cstudents/dean/break-writing/break-3.html" rel="nofollow">this web page</a> about "Crappy First Drafts." Now I shall add yours to my inspiration reading too. Fortunately, only a few more sections to go and then I can move on to the less painful revision stage.Anne Jeffersonhttp://all-geo.org/highlyallochthonousnoreply@blogger.com